Watch SpaceX launch 22 Starlink satellites tonight

Liftoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET.

SpaceX plans to launch 22 more of its Starlink internet satellites tonight (Aug. 6), and you can watch the action live.

A Falcon 9 rocket topped with the Starlink spacecraft is scheduled to lift off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station tonight at 9 p.m. EDT (0100 GMT on Aug. 7).

Watch it live here at Space.com, courtesy of SpaceX, or directly via the company. Coverage is expected to begin about five minutes before launch.

Related: Starlink satellite train: How to see and track it in the night sky

If all goes according to plan, the Falcon 9's first stage will come back for a landing about eight minutes after liftoff. It will touch down on the SpaceX droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas, which will be stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.

It will be the fourth launch and landing for this particular booster, according to a SpaceX mission description.

The Falcon 9's upper stage will continue carrying the 22 Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit (LEO), where they will be deployed about 65 minutes after liftoff.

— SpaceX rocket launches on record-setting 15th mission, lands on ship at sea (video)

— 8 ways that SpaceX has transformed spaceflight

— SpaceX Starlink satellites had to make 25,000 collision-avoidance maneuvers in just 6 months — and it will only get worse

SpaceX has launched 4,881 Starlink spacecraft to date, according to satellite tracker and astrophysicist Jonathan McDowell. More than 4,500 of those satellites are currently functional.

SpaceX plans to loft many more Starlink craft to LEO over the coming weeks and months. The company has approval to deploy 12,000 satellites and has applied for permission to launch 30,000 more on top of that.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Breaking space news, the latest updates on rocket launches, skywatching events and more!

Michael Wall is a Senior Space Writer with Space.com and joined the team in 2010. He primarily covers exoplanets, spaceflight and military space, but has been known to dabble in the space art beat. His book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published on Nov. 13, 2018. Before becoming a science writer, Michael worked as a herpetologist and wildlife biologist. He has a Ph.D. in evolutionary biology from the University of Sydney, Australia, a bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona, and a graduate certificate in science writing from the University of California, Santa Cruz. To find out what his latest project is, you can follow Michael on Twitter.

Watch China test fire new engine for its planned crewed moon rocket (video)

NASA and Axiom Space sign-on for 4th private astronaut mission to space station

NASA unveils new website and streaming new service landing later this year

By Brett TingleyAugust 04, 2023

By Robert Z. PearlmanAugust 04, 2023

By Elizabeth HowellAugust 04, 2023

By Robert LeaAugust 04, 2023

By Elizabeth HowellAugust 04, 2023

By Jeff SpryAugust 04, 2023

By Elizabeth HowellAugust 04, 2023

By Elizabeth HowellAugust 04, 2023

By Andrew JonesAugust 04, 2023

By Joanna ThompsonAugust 04, 2023

By Robert Lea, Tereza PultarovaAugust 04, 2023